


In a small city just a few hours from Tokyo

by Chieana



Series: In a small city just a few hours from Tokyo [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, CatHaru, Domestic, Drama, Future Fish inspired, Getting the hang of fanfiction writing again, I like to surprise my readers, I might be inspired by 50 percent off, I'll add tags characters and relationships as I go, M/M, Magic Exists, There might be some psychology going on here as well, fluff?, my tags are a mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-04-17 13:58:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4669193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chieana/pseuds/Chieana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All the shenanigans everyone gets up to in a small city just a few hours from Tokyo.</p><p>But really, the story mostly revolves around the strange happening in Makoto's household, between Makoto and his cat, Haru-chan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A (not so peaceful) day in the life of Makoto and Haruka

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story wanted to get out as quickly as possible (I had to write down the first scene that came to me at 1AM, spent 2 hours writing before I could sleep, whoops). I've just spend an entire day writing this. I'm at roughly 4 chapters now? Not bad, if I do say so myself xD This story is an absolute roller coaster, like, dayum. Things are getting real very quickly. Lots of angst, hopefully a bunch of fluff, and maybe some spicy scenes, but that is going to take a while before I find that one out, kekeke.
> 
> I'm terrible at posting on a set schedule, sorry everyone :( I'll try to post chapters daily for a while, seeing as I have 4 of them at the ready that only need to be checked for a bit. I won't make any promises though, I'm terrible at keeping to a schedule, truly terrible. I've said it twice now. I'll say it again a few times in the end notes xD
> 
> Well then, I won't hold you back any longer, please proceed and I'll meet you again in the end notes!

Makoto Tachibana is a terrible cook. He will be the first to tell you himself. And then his friends will tell you all the horror stories involving Makoto and an innocent kitchen... Yes, Makoto is terrible at cooking. He insisted on living alone however, to the shock of everyone. 

How is he going to eat? Will he survive the first week? Will he have to save himself in his work suit? These were several questions asked in silence the day he moved out. One should also note that Makoto Tachibana is a firefighter. This was actually the reason why no one voiced their concerns, because if things went wrong, he could save himself, right? He would know what to do?

Makoto himself is still regretting his decision till this day. He’s already been living in his apartment for 5 years and yet he still cannot cook. When he does decide to give cooking a try, he either burns everything, or undercooks the meal. He always eats what he makes, however, because throwing anything out would be a waste. 

One cannot say that Makoto will learn how to cook if he does it more often. Makoto cooks every single day for his pet cat. A ridiculously pampered cat. The true head of the house hold if you will. Haru-chan, or Haruka, is a pitch black cat with the bluest eyes Makoto has ever seen. Makoto found the cat a day after moving in, when the cat had been chased up into a tree, severely injured. He had taken the cat back and healed it, but by the time it was healed, the cat refused to leave.

So now Makoto cooks twice a day for his Haru-chan. In the morning he grills a piece of mackerel and in the evening, after work, he cooks the cat some rice. Haruka is not an average cat though. Besides that he demands mackerel and rice on a daily basis, he also enjoys being in the water intensely. 

Makoto found this out when he had kept his bathroom door opened when he was showering (the joys of living alone). Haruka had sneaked in after him and had jumped into the filling bathtub, looking completely blissed. So now Makoto keeps the bathroom door open at all times and a filled bowl of water stands next to the bath for whenever Haruka feels like enjoying the water.

Makoto Tachibana is a very attractive man. He is very muscled from both having been in the swimming club in school and from working as a firefighter, which requires quite a bit of strength. He has always been single, rejecting all confessions gently, for he has yet to fall in love. And Makoto does not believe people should be together if they’re not truly in love with each other. 

He was getting a bit lonely however. So lonely, in fact, that he often speaks to his cat as if it is human. He often muses how nice it would be if Haruka had been human. He feels like he can fall in love with someone like Haruka, even though Haruka is a cat. He voiced this thought to his friends once, who all looked at him with pity. This was also how he got the nickname crazy cat man, much to Makoto’s dislike.

It is a pleasant Tuesday morning and Makoto grills some mackerel in his kitchen. Haru is sitting on the counter, observing the world outside. Makoto hums a tune to himself and pets Haruka gently as he looks outside as well. Haruka purrs from the attention and rubs his head affectionately against Makoto’s hand. Makoto giggles and nuzzles the cat’s head.

“Oh, Haru-chan, how I wish I had someone like you to love,” Makoto muses, giggling to himself as he realises he’s acting crazy again. Haruka smells that the mackerel is ready and notifies his owner with a short meow. Makoto smiles and pets the cat some more, before smelling something burning. 

“The mackerel!” he shouts and returns to the stove. Haruka flips his tail to the side in annoyance. Makoto looks up to apologize to his cat, but he sees him quietly sulking in the window sill. His ears are a bit flatter against his head and his tail is sweeping to and fro in annoyance. Makoto giggles at the sight. Haruka looks at his owner then promptly looks the other way with another flick of his tail. 

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry, Haru-chan. Here’s your mackerel,” Makoto says as he puts the plate with the fish on it on the ground. Haruka stubbornly stays where he is and stares out the window. Makoto chuckles and goes into the hallway in order to put on his work outfit. He wears a simple, comfortable pair of pants and a wife beater under his uniform. He hoists himself into the massive pants and puts on his sturdy boots. He takes his jacket with him in his hands. 

“Bye Haru-chan! See you tonight! Be a good cat now, will you?” he screams back into the house with a giggle. A single meow is his answer from the kitchen. Makoto smiles brightly and walks outside, closing and locking his door. He briskly walks down the stairs, greeting neighbours in passing, and enjoys the spring sun shining brightly. 

_'It’s a good day,'_ Makoto thinks to himself as a pleasant breeze blows in his face. 

He arrives at the station only a small while later, greeting his co-workers cheerily. Everyone is always in a much better mood when Makoto arrives. He’s always smiling when he enters and cheers everyone up with his friendly demeanour. Of course, it also helps that Makoto is so attractive, of course, but no one ever dares to comment on that. Makoto climbs up the stairs and into his boss’ office, greeting him cheerfully.

“Good morning to you too, Makoto dear. It’s been quiet today, I’m afraid, no cats for you to save,” his boss, Goro Sasabe, says with a grin. Makoto blushes slightly.

“I can do more than just that, boss, and you know it,” Makoto replies with his ever present smile on his face. Goro nods in agreement and shuffles through his paper work on the desk.

“It’s just been a quiet night and morning today. It doesn’t really sit well with me. You can go on a patrol with Masao and Shoji. They were going to go around and check if there were any abandoned buildings habited, or if there were any cheeky boys lighting fires in the neighbourhood.” Makoto chuckles and nods.

“Sure, I would love to!” Goro smiles and waves him off, writing something down on one of his papers. Makoto returns downstairs and meets up with his two co-workers. They are off within a few minutes. They cruise around the neighbourhood, checking abandoned buildings and keeping an eye out for smoke in the air. 

Makoto sits in silence throughout most of the trip, while his co-workers joke around besides him. They decide to have a quick lunch at one of the small bistros on their way back. Once back in the car with filled tummies they drive back to the station. About halfway there, a loud explosion makes them jump in their seats. They look outside and quickly spot a large cloud of smoke coming from the direction of the hospital. 

They look at each other before Shoji turns on the sirens and drives quickly towards the smoke while Masao rings the station to tell them what happened and that they are on the way. Makoto puts on his jacket and helmet. So far for a peaceful and quiet day. 

They arrive quickly and notice that the explosion came from the building next to the hospital, the science centre. Masao and Shoji grab the necessary tools while Makoto talks with the hospital spokesperson in order to find out what the status is. 

“Most people from the wing closest to the science centre have been evacuated, we want to wait with evacuating the right wing for as long as possible, because all those patients are in need of powered equipment,” the spokesperson explains. Makoto nods and rests his hand on her shoulder.

“We will do our best to contain the fire as quickly as possible.” Not even a second after he says that, a second, larger, explosion erupts from the science centre, making the top floor of the left wing collapse. Makoto stills in shock. He forces the spokesperson to look at him. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll get everyone out, please make sure things stay organised down here.” The woman nods quickly at this and Makoto gestures to Masao and Shoji that he’s going in. By now the large trucks with water tanks have arrived. Masao and Shoji run over to the hospital along with Makoto. 

“Makoto, we’re going in as well. Are you okay with the upmost floor? You’re still the strongest on the team,” Masao asks seriously. Makoto nods with a small smile gracing his lips. 

“Of course. Try to stay in contact with each other, guys.” Masao and Shoji nod and everyone turns on their com system. Helmets down and uniforms closed, the guys enter the hospital. Masao goes upstairs for a bit with Makoto, while Shoji searches downstairs. Masao waves Makoto off two floors higher as Makoto keeps going to the top floor, or what’s left of it. 

He quickly scans the perimeter, but finds no clues of life signs. He quickly goes down again and calms the people he meets on the way, guiding them to safety. By now there are two more team members in the building, in the staircase to help people towards safety. Makoto thanks the spirits that they have a large enough firefighting team that they can do this, while still being able to turn out the fire.

Makoto hears cracking noises from upstairs and realises he has little time left before the floor above him collapses as well. He hears a woman scream for help and runs towards the sound. There’s a young woman, limping, with a baby in her hands. She’s crying and obviously panicked. Makoto puts his arm around her, whispering calm words as he guides her as quickly as possible towards the staircase. 

The woman is injured on her leg and can’t move that quickly, so Makoto decides to lift her up and run the last bit. He puts the woman down and sees her off as she is guided down before turning back and listening for anyone else. He’s pretty sure he’s in the clear and turns around to go down the stairs himself when the building shakes and the roof comes crashing down. 

Makoto leaps forwards, but not far enough and part of the roof lands on his back. He groans and struggles as he lifts the heavy structure up with his back. A sudden burst of dizziness takes over and he falters. 

“I’m in shit guys,” he mumbles into the com system as he feels his strength leaving him. The last he hears is the cheering of people outside and the crumbling of the building around him. 

_'Ah, at least the fire is put out,'_ he thinks as his world goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pfffffffffft...... Cliffhanger! Aren't I nice to all you readers (I'm terribly mean, then again, I am a game designer, so that's kinda my job). I hope you all enjoyed reading this :3 Any feedback is very welcome! I'll try to respond to all comments if you dare to leave one! (I rarely dare to leave a comment myself, so I will not judge you if you don't)
> 
> So yeah, as I said in the notes at the beginning (you didn't read those, did you? :P) I am terrible, TERRIBLE, at keeping to a schedule, so while I have some chapters at the ready for y'all, I can't make any promises U_U' I'll try to do some daily updates for a while until my chapters run out, but, yeah, I'll try okay Q.Q Let's hope people keep leaving comments to remind me that I have to post a new chapter... ghehehe... hehe...
> 
> xx Chi ^^


	2. A day in the life of Rei and Nagisa - Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the lovely comment and kudos ^^ They made my day :3 I forgot how hard it is to re-establish yourself in a fanfiction community ^^' So next chapter is up, as predicted :D I actually tweaked this one quite a bit in the last few hours, I just really wanted to add all these things and more, and maybe a little more of this, and maybe- ah, maybe it's okay now... This is the kinda stuff that goes through my mind when I'm editing my own work, very distracting xD
> 
> I'll let you get to the story now. It doesn't continue off from the previous chapter (as you may have deduced from the title), but we'll get there x)

Rei Ryuugazaki is a 23 year old male studying experimental sciences. Rei acknowledges that he is an attractive person as far as looks go. He has studied human behaviours around him thoroughly and has also compared his own body and face to that of others’ and he knows he is in the ‘attractive’ category. He is, unfortunately, also considered to be a nerd, a dork if one asks his friends, and most people have a hard time understanding him and his motivations. Rei is okay with that though. He doesn’t really have the time for dating another person right now, nor is he really interested. He is doing fine the way he is. He remembers the terrible try at dating he had in middle school well. He had changed his entire behaviour around just to suite the other person only to get dumped in the end. Yes, Rei is comfortable with being single. 

Having a crush is nothing out it the ordinary, of course, but that doesn’t mean he plans to do anything with it. This is why he is enjoying his time with his best friend, Nagisa Hazuki, someone who fits into the category ‘cute but dangerous’, to the fullest. Nagisa is a beautiful man, only a year and a half older than Rei. He is a bright individual, capable of bringing a smile to everyone’s face by just being there. Nagisa is very spontaneous and loud, but while that may be a tad annoying at times, it’s also terribly endearing to Rei.

They are going to meet up later today and Rei is feeling great. He’s humming to himself as he finishes up the experimental drug he’s making for school. Satoshi, his senpai for the time being, chuckles as he walks into the room.

“You seem to be in a great mood today, Rei!” Rei looks up after putting a cork on the phial containing the temporary liquid form of the drug he’s working on.

“Good day to you, Satoshi-senpai! Yes, the weather is delightful and I’m meeting up with a friend I haven’t seen in a while, so I’m feeling better than normal. My assignment is also working out better than I had hoped, so yes. I’m in a great mood today!” Satoshi chuckles and sits down on the empty chair, jiggling his leg up and down. Rei frowns a little at this restless behaviour. He picks up his assignment and puts it in the large glass cabinet, which stores all the other dangerous assignments. As Rei cleans up his working space, his other senpai enters the room, Ayame. Rei nods his head at her and she nods back with a smile. She hovers about the room a little. Rei figures she is just having a break or something. Well, it was time for him to leave.

“I’m done for the day. Good day to you, Satoshi-senpai, Ayame-senpai,” Rei says with a brilliant smile. Satoshi chuckles again and waves at him. Ayame looks surprised.

“Are you off to a date, Rei-kun?” she wonders. Rei stills. Date? No way, Nagisa wouldn’t want to date someone as unimportant as him. He chuckles and shakes his head.

“No, no, Ayame-senpai. I’m meeting my long-time friend whom I haven’t seen in quite a while. That’s all.” He smiles again and leaves the room. 

“He’s totally got a date, hasn’t he?” Rei hears from the room and sighs. He has great respect for his senpais, but they are much too invested in love and romance. It is inappropriate in Rei’s opinion. Rei checks out at the front desk and walks out into the lovely spring breeze greeting him. 

He takes a look on his watch and notices he is rather early, so he decides to walk instead of taking the bus to get to the café he promised to meet Nagisa at. He takes a quick look in his reflection, fixing his messy dark blue hair a little and cleaning his glasses. He always keeps his hair trimmed short in order to save on dyeing expenses. He knows his dark blue hair makes him stand out, not entirely to his liking, but it is also due to his hair that Nagisa felt the need to talk to him. At least, he thinks that’s what motivated his friend.

Deeming himself acceptable, he starts his hour long walk towards the centre of the city. He notices it’s peaceful during this time of the day. He enjoys his stroll actively, knowing he won’t get this chance again soon. All too quickly in Rei’s opinion, he arrives in the café.

“Rei-chan! Over here!” He hears as soon as he enters. Nagisa seems to have arrived already. Rei looks up and spots the shorter male in the back corner of the café. Nagisa looks particularly stunning today, Rei notes. The smaller male decided on wearing the cutest outfit in bright colours, highlighting his gorgeous legs. His half long blonde hair is fluffed beyond control (Rei vaguely recalls telling Nagisa that fluffy hair looks attractive on him) and he seems to be wearing a bit of light make-up. How charming.

Rei then realises an interesting development has taken place. Nagisa usually prefers to sit in the front, so he can check out and maybe flirt with anyone coming in. Nagisa sitting in the back is new and, if Rei is being honest, it kind of excites him. It piques his interest. Rei makes his way over and sits down neatly when he arrives.

“Good afternoon, Nagisa. Why are we sitting in the back today?” Might as well ask, Rei figures. Nagisa’s eyes widen a little before he looks to the side with a light blush on his face. Rei looks a little closer, is Nagisa looking hurt? Did he say anything wrong? He doesn’t want to harm the other male in any way.

“Oh, well, just a little change of scenery! Besides, you were going to talk about your amazing experiment, right?” Nagisa says cheerfully, looking back at Rei. Rei hesitates for a bit, not trusting Nagisa’s cheerfulness. Oh well, Nagisa probably doesn’t want to talk about his feelings in public anyway.

“Very thoughtful of you, it is quieter in the back. I didn’t think you would be honestly interested though.” Playing along seems like a fine plan to Rei. He can always ask Nagisa later, when they meet a little more privately. Nagisa giggles and shakes his head, his hair bouncing around, framing his head beautifully. Pay attention, Rei!

“I’m interested in everything you say, Rei-chan! You just get a little in-depth sometimes and then I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” Rei blushes and looks to the side. He did tend to rant about things that interested him. He should make sure to take better care with his words. He coughs while Nagisa chuckles before looking up again.

“Well, have you already ordered something?” he asks. True gentleman, he can add some points to his attractiveness. Nagisa shakes his head.

“I was waiting for you, Rei-chan!” Rei nods, feeling awfully flattered, and waves a waiter over. It’s not like Nagisa does this just for him, Nagisa always makes sure to please his friends. He’s always very polite, underneath the hyper active loudness. A young lady makes her way over to them. 

“Good afternoon! Can I take your orders?” she asks professionally, but her gaze lingers on Rei. Oh dear, he has attracted attention to himself. He doesn’t really know how to handle it if she starts flirting, but she seems to stay professional for now.

“Yes, I will have some green tea and a health sandwich please. Nagisa?” Rei looks up over to Nagisa, who quickly looks down at the menu when their gazes meet. He hums a little before looking over at the waitress.

“I’ll have some orangeade and a plate of pancakes with chocolate spread.” Rei sighs as the waitress leaves. 

“Nagisa, you should really consider a healthier diet,” he says. Nagisa boos at him.

“No way, Rei-chan. I’m fine the way I am, aren’t I? I’m just gonna keep eating what I like!” Nagisa certainly doesn’t seem to take on any weight… And he just looks absolutely gorgeous in those tiny shorts, elongating his beautiful legs... Pay attention, Rei! He looks up quickly, seeing that Nagisa is looking at his phone instead of him.

“Nagisa…”

“Anyway, let’s hear about that thing you’re making!” Nagisa says as he looks up with a bright smile. Rei smiles back and sits up a little straighter, pushing up his glasses.

“Well, Nagisa, I’m making a new drug (“Rei-chan! I’m gonna tell Rin-chan!” “Medicine, Nagisa”) which will help battle fever symptoms in a friendlier way than has been done before. I shall spare you the chemical details, but right now I have reached the third to last stage with the dru- medicine. It’s in a liquid stage and has to rest for a day before I can continue work on it. It’s very dangerous though! Because of its liquid state it’s very explosive!” Rei says enthusiastically. He hopes he managed to keep Nagisa interested.

“Whoa! Explosive? Won’t it be dangerous to take then?” Nagisa seems genuinely interested. He’s leaning onto his hand and looking at Rei intently. Rei mentally pats himself on the back. Well done, Rei.

“Ah, but once it solidifies, the chemical essence changes, which makes it non-explosive. Naturally, one should never burn a large amount of medicine, because there’s always the chance of an explosion still happening. One must also take into consideration the chemicals that evaporate and become airborne, those are quite dangerous once inhaled!” Rei rants as he sits a little straighter, holding his glasses. Nagisa giggles before eating the last bite of his pancakes. Rei is about halfway done with his sandwich.

“Nagisa, you eat too fast!” Rei proclaims as he notices the difference.

“No way, you just rant too much, Rei-chan, it’s not very efficient!” Nagisa mimics him. Rei blushes and is about to explain very thoroughly how Nagisa is completely wrong, when the two of them hear a massive explosion. The explosion is large enough to make them shake in their seats. Rei’s eyes widen in fear and he is up and out of the café in several long strides. He looks around and sees exactly as he fears. A large cloud of smoke rises from the science centre. 

“Did I put the phial away..?” he asks under his breath as Nagisa stands beside him with wide eyes. A firefighter car races past them towards the smoke and Rei starts to feel faint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. Another cliffhanger, isn't it xD I'm truly being awful... then again, some psychological stuff about cliffhangers creating and maintaining interest, and yada yada yada... Actually, I have no excuse. It just seemed the best part to split it...
> 
> Well, I really hope y'all still like the story so far and I'll try to post another chapter tomorrow :3
> 
> xx Chi ^^


	3. A day in the life of Rei and Nagisa - Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter :3 Continuation of the previous chapter U_U This was the last of the finished chapters I had in the beginning, but I have almost finished the next two... I might make some changes, however, by adding some flashback chapters explaining more about the history between the characters and stuff... Fun middle school drama xD We'll see what happens. I think I'll be able to post another chapter again tomorrow, but after that I think everything will slow down quite a bit :(
> 
> I'll stop holding you back, enjoy the chapter :3

“Rei-chan!” Nagisa shouts and holds onto Rei. Rei realises he has fallen to his knees. He shakes his head and stands up again, running towards the smoke. 

“No, Rei-chan, wait!” Nagisa screams after him, but Rei is not paying attention. He has to get there. This is probably all his fault. How could he make such a stupid mistake! He’s such an idiot! And now he has put a lot of people in danger... Oh, this is bad. A few minutes into his run he stumbles, because a second explosion, bigger than the first, goes off, making the ground tremble.

Rei manages to arrive at the science centre half an hour later. Everything has already been blocked off when Rei arrives. He sees that the second explosion must have done more damage, because the top floor of the left wing of the hospital has collapsed. Nagisa arrives shortly after, panting and clinging onto Rei immediately. 

“Rei-chan! Are you okay?” Rei looks towards Nagisa and feels tears dripping from his eyes. 

“Nagisa, this is my fault. I made a mistake!” Rei says and start to sob. Nagisa hugs him tightly.

“It’s okay Rei-chan, I think only a few people got hurt.”

“It’s not okay, Nagisa! I’ve put everyone in danger! Do you remember what I just explained to you!?” Rei lashes out and pushes Nagisa away from him. This time Nagisa definitely looks hurt. Rei flinches, regretting his actions. Nagisa looks towards the smoke that thinned out significantly since they arrived.

They watch as the firefighters do their job. A lot of people are evacuated from the hospital. They hear some information here and there about injured people, but they have yet to hear about a fatality. Rei hugs his arms around his stomach.

“The fire is out!” is screamed by someone at a certain point and people clap and cheer. A loud rumbling noise is heard immediately after and Rei looks towards the hospital. He watches in horror as the hospital’s fourth floor collapses as well.

“Mako is still inside!” he hears a random fireman shout and he freezes. Makoto is still in the building!? His tears stream down his face as he tries to see what’s happening at the entrance of the hospital.

“Mako-chan…” Nagisa whispers silently as he takes a step closer. Rei looks over and feels a thousand times worse than he did before. Makoto was both their precious senpai and Rei might have killed him. Rei may just have killed one of their best friends. 

He falls down onto his knees again, staring firmly to see any sign of Makoto. At last, two fireman carry a third out of the hospital. The man is not moving at all, it doesn’t even look like he’s breathing. The fireman is dragged towards an ambulance and investigated. Rei looks around himself, noticing that people are not really paying attention to him or his surroundings, so he stands up and enters the blocked off area, running towards the ambulance.

“Makoto-senpai!” he shouts as he arrives. Makoto respond by opening his eyes and smiling at Rei.

“Rei, what are you doing here?” he says with a hoarse voice. Rei sobs and lunges forwards hugging Makoto firmly. 

“Ouch, Rei, calm down, I’m fine, just some scratches and bruises on my back.” Rei loosens his grip quickly. He was such an idiot, hurting his senpai even more.

“I’m so sorry, senpai!” he says as he sobs into Makoto’s jacket. Makoto sighs fondly and hugs him back carefully. Rei feels a few taps on his shoulder. When he looks around he sees Rin Matsuoka in his police uniform, looking very unimpressed. 

Rin Matsuoka is another senpai of Rei and Nagisa. Rin and Makoto were classmates in middle school and Rin is the one who started the swimming club that would present Rei with friends for the first time in his life. Rin is also the person who taught him how to swim and he is forever grateful to the man.

“Rei, you’re not supposed to be on this side of the tape, what are you doing?” Rin says with an annoyed voice. Rei jumps away from Makoto and bows deeply.

“I’m so sorry, Matsuoka-senpai, but I feel very responsible for what happened here and I would feel better if you arrested me at once.” Rei holds his hands out, waiting to be cuffed. Rin tilts his head to the side, confused. 

“What? It was an accident, we’re pretty sure, y’know?” Rei nods fiercely. Rin looks even more confused.

“I know! But it was my fault it could happen!” Rin sighs, stroking a hand over his face. Rei looks at his senpai desperately, but Rin is just shaking his head. Then they hear footsteps.

“Rei-chan!” Nagisa screams as he runs towards Rei. He jumps up and clings onto the taller boy. Rei flinches a bit at the strength Nagisa uses to hold onto him.

“Rei-chan would never want to hurt anyone!” Nagisa screams in Rin’s direction. Rin’s eyebrow twitches and he sighs, crossing his arms.

“Nagisa, you’re not allowed past the tape either,” Rin says firmly. Nagisa pouts and sobs, putting on his puppy eyes.

“But Rei-chan is being dumb!” Makoto and Rin agree in silence. Rei keeps his head down.

“But this could have been prevented if only I-” Rei tries to explain, still feeling awfully guilty about the whole happening.

“Shut up Rei-chan!” Nagisa interrupts him. Rei looks up into Nagisa’s eyes and is shocked by the amount of emotion leaking from the smaller man’s face. Nagisa looks positively hurt and frightened.

“Nagisa…” Rei breathes. Why was Nagisa scared? What could he be afraid of? Rin groans, interrupting Rei’s thoughts.

“Yeah, yeah, have a moment, but do it on the other side of the tape!” he says as he pushes the two men towards the tape. They leave in silence. Rin sighs and returns to his job after making sure Makoto is okay. That idiotic angel with the most divine body to be found on this freaking planet.

Nagisa and Rei walk together in silence. Nagisa slowly inches closer to Rei, till their hands are brushing. Rei lets it happen. It even calms him down a little. He’s still upset and has no idea what’s going through Nagisa’s mind. It shocks him more than he could have imagined, that Nagisa is afraid of something involving him. Is Nagisa afraid of him?

“Rei-chan?” Nagisa asks after a while. Rei hums in acknowledgement, not trusting his voice at all. Nagisa looks away and fumbles with his hands for a bit. _‘So cute,’_ Rei thinks.

“What makes you think it was your fault?” he asks quietly. Rei stares at Nagisa. He still looks beautiful, even though his make-up is starting to run down his face. It takes a while for him to register what Nagisa asked. When he does, he sighs and stops.

“I was talking about my project right?” he starts. Nagisa nods, moving a little close.

“Well, I think I forgot to put the phial back into the glass cabinet, where all of the dangerous liquids are kept. I probably left it on the counter, and knowing where I work, it will probably have stood on the side of the counter,” Rei explains slowly. Nagisa looks to the side. Rei has a feeling he knows what’s coming. 

“But you never wanted anyone to get hurt, right, Rei-chan?” Nagisa tries. Spot on. Rei scoffs. Nagisa is so naïve, he realises.

“Of course not! That doesn’t take away that I made a big mistake! This could have been terrible, Nagisa! We don’t even know yet what the true effects are of this disaster! Who knows what kind of terrible chemicals got airborne?” Rei says as he starts sobbing again, unable to keep his emotions at bay. He feels awful, he’s fucked up. He totally fucked up, badly, he won’t be surprised if he’ll get a mail saying he has to drop out. Nagisa looks troubled.

“I just don’t think you did that Rei-chan, it doesn’t sound like you at all,” Nagisa whispers, mostly to himself. Rei shakes his head. Nagisa can believe all he wants, but Rei is pretty sure he knows what happened at the science centre.

“I’m not perfect Nagisa. I fuck up. I fuck up all the time. I suck at life, if I didn’t suck so badly this would never have happened! I’m despicable,” Rei rants, meaning every word he says. Nagisa frowns deeply.

“No, Rei! You’re not despicable, you’re amazing and wonderful and beautiful and so, so smart! How dare you talk about yourself like that!?” Nagisa shouts at him. Rei sighs. He is so done with Nagisa looking up to him. It is straining, a bother, because no matter what way he looks at it, he doesn’t deserve the admiration.

“Nagisa, I’m not as great as you think. Stop putting me on some sort of pedestal! I think it’s best if you didn’t meet me for a while. You need to calm down and see things as they are!” Rei nods firmly. Yes, he’s said it. Nagisa has to calm down! A heart wrenching sob breaks the silence. Nagisa looks hurt to the core as tears flow over his face.

“How could you, Rei-chan,” he says in that painfully sad voice, before turning around and running away. Rei stays still, his heart beating loudly in his chest. He had not meant to hurt Nagisa, he just needs him to calm down, is all… Oh well, he’ll be back… right? Might take a few weeks… Rei feels positively shaken by the events that happened today. He sighs deeply and continues his walk, moving towards his apartment in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the drama! And such angsty thoughts Rei, take a chill pill xD Well, now we know that our beloved Makoto-senpai still lives on, to save us yet another day! And the introduction of our cute little shark-senpai :3 I hope y'all liked the chapter! I'll meet you all soon ^^
> 
> xx Chi ^^


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, longest chapter so far :') I couldn't help adding all this stuff to it Dx Derp, anyway, a little late today, but still on time enough :') I had a busy weekend, so I didn't really have all that much time to write D: Nooooo.... -sad- I did manage to buy 15 games for €7,50 and 4 books for €4,- so I'm happy xD (thrift shops are amazing!) Thank you all for the amazing amount of kudos by the way, I was so happy when I checked today :3 I hope I can keep everyone content with the content I provide (ghehe, did you get it? :facepalm:)
> 
> I'll quit ranting now and leave you to reading the new chapter :D
> 
> xx Chi ^^

Makoto startles awake when his arm is stung by a needle.

“Ouch,” he mutters, sitting up. He looks around and sees the relieved faces of Masao and Shoji. His back feels terrible, but seeing as he can sit up just fine, he figures he didn’t break anything. 

“We thought you were a goner for a second there,” Masao says. Shoji nods along, subtly wiping away a few tears. Makoto smiles.

“Well, I am still the strongest, aren’t I?” he jokes and his team members chuckle half-heartedly. The nurse returns with a smile on her face, assuring him he’ll be fine, but that his back will probably heal slowly and he should definitely pay a visit to a physiotherapist. He gets a card shoved into his hand and sighs, glad that’s over. His team members have already moved over to the rest of the team, searching through the rubble of the science centre. Makoto closes his eyes, still feeling a little dizzy.

“Makoto-senpai!” Makoto hears and looks up. Rei is moving towards him with quick steps. He smiles friendly at his kouhai. 

“Rei, what are you doing here?” he says with a hoarse voice before he has his arms full with the younger man. He flinches when Rei squeezes him, getting too much pressure on his back.

“Ouch, Rei, calm down, I’m fine, just some scratches and bruises on my back,” Makoto says painfully. Rei loosens his grip. 

“I’m so sorry, senpai!” he says as he sobs into Makoto’s jacket. Makoto sighs fondly and hugs him back carefully. He smiles as he sees Rin moving towards them with a scowl on his face.

“Rei, you’re not supposed to be on this side of the tape, what are you doing?” Rin says with an annoyed voice. Rei jumps away from Makoto and bows deeply.

“I’m so sorry, Matsuoka-senpai, but I feel very responsible for what happened here and I would feel better if you arrested me at once.” Makoto feels another wave of dizziness wash over him, so he hunches forward, holding his face in his hands. He vaguely registers that Nagisa has also arrived and that Rin is still annoyed. He looks up after a while, seeing Nagisa hanging off of Rei and Rin looking pissed.

“But Rei-chan is being dumb!” Nagisa shouts, clearly upset. Makoto and Rin agree in silence while Rei keeps his head down.

“But this could have been prevented if only I-” Rei tries to explain. Makoto wonders why Rei feels responsible. He wasn’t even there when the explosions happened.

“Shut up Rei-chan!” Nagisa interrupts him. Makoto watches as Rin’s eyebrow is twitching faster than before.

“Nagisa…” Rei breathes. Rin loses it and groans, clenching his hands. Makoto holds back a chuckle. Rin looks kinda cute when he’s pissed like that.

“Yeah, yeah, have a moment, but do it on the other side of the tape!” he says as he pushes the two men towards the tape. They leave in silence. Makoto chuckles as Rin stomps back towards him.

“You okay?” Rin grunts. Makoto nods. _‘Oh dear, here comes mum…’_

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be having a lot of back aches for a while, but I’m feeling good,” Makoto reassures his friend. There are a few black spots drifting in his view, but he’s sure it’s nothing. Rin’s eyes widen and he moves forward, holding onto Makoto.

“Nurse!” he screams. Makoto feels the dizziness trying to take over again and closes his eyes with a grunt.

“I’m fine, Rin, just a bit dizzy. I think that’s normal when I just had an entire roof squashing me.” Rin tsks and shakes his head. The nurse moves over and looks worried as well after looking at Makoto. She flashes an annoying light in his eyes and asks ridiculous questions. The diagnoses still stands.

“You seem to have a minor concussion, but that’s to be expected. Try to take it easy for a while. Be wise and take a few weeks off from work in order to heal. You’re useless if you’re like this,” the nurse explains gently, but firmly. It seems like she’s caught on to Makoto’s stubbornness. Makoto sighs and nods.

“I will,” he promises. Rin reassures the nurse he will make sure of it and she leaves with a giggle. Rin looks back, eyebrow twitching again.

“Nothing he says, idiot. You looked like a ghost!” Makoto chuckles and shrugs.

“It didn’t feel like a big deal…” Rin leers at him. Then he sniffs and looks away. Makoto sighs affectionately. Rin always cried about the most ridiculous stuff.

“I’m not crying!” Rin shouts before Makoto can even say anything. Makoto raises his hands amusedly. Rin leers at him.

“Oh stop it. Look after yourself, will you? I know you love being the hero and everything, but well, you’re not much of a hero if you’re dead.” Makoto smiles kindly and gestures for Rin to come closer. Rin moves forward and hugs him tightly, yet carefully. Makoto smiles into the embrace, enjoying the physical contact while he can.

“Just take care of yourself okay? I will not look after your cat,” Rin mumbles in Makoto’s neck. Makoto laughs and waves Rin off as he goes back to do his job. Makoto notices that the remains of the research centre are already quarantined and there is a group of chemical cleaners getting ready to do a thorough sweep. 

Makoto leans comfortably against the side of the ambulance he is seated in and watches things unfold before him. He passes in and out of consciousness and vaguely remembers being thanked by the lady he saved and pestered by several of his firefighter buddies. When he is fully conscious again, Goro is walking towards him.

“Good afternoon, sleeping beauty. I’m giving you a month to recover and then I’m going to have someone on your tail all day, every day so you don’t overexert yourself. You got that?” Makoto nods. _‘Why is everyone so bossy?’_ he wonders.

“I’m being serious. Anyway, we’re going to need you to go to the station for a bit to pick up your stuff and answer some questions for the police and my report. You think you’re up for that?” Makoto stands up slowly, carefully, just to humour the people around him. He’s getting kind of fed up with everyone’s worries, he’s fine. Ouch, that hurt. Okay, so maybe he isn’t completely fine, but fine enough!

“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine,” he says as he walks along with his boss towards the fire truck. No words are spoken between the two as the team prepares to leave. Makoto smiles and waves at Masao and Shoji as he feel the vehicle moving. He falls into unconsciousness again during the trip and wakes up as the vehicle parks in the garage. 

Makoto is ushered out of the truck and up the stairs, into the boss’ office. Makoto sits down on a chair and waits for the police officer to come in and interrogate him. He’s slowly slipping into unconsciousness again when he startles awake by the door being slammed open. Rin grumbles as he walks inside, slamming the door closed behind him again. He sits down in front of Makoto.

“Assholes, all of them, making me do this,” Rin mumbles as he pulls out a notebook and pen from his bag. Makoto smiles gently at him. He knows Rin is all bark and no bite. At least, as far as he has experienced. He doesn’t want to think about that awful conversation he overheard once when two of Rin’s exes were talking about Rin behind his back. Focus, Makoto, Rin’s sitting in front of you.

“If it helps, I’m glad it’s you I have to talk to,” he reassures his friend. Rin looks at him for a while. 

“It doesn’t help. This is why they keep making me talk to the victims and witnesses. It’s stressful, you know. And a bit dull after hearing the same thing over and over again.” Makoto chuckles. Rin looks cute when he’s whining. Rin frowns at him. Makoto holds up his hands.

“Sorry, sorry. Anyway, can you tell me what happened? Or have you yet to find out?” Rin sighs and leans down on his hands. 

“It’s so stupid. We had the pleasure of viewing the security footage and lo and behold, there were two scientists getting funky in the lab. Those idiots were careful at first, but then they decide to go for a third round. Yes, truly, a third freaking round and they throw all caution out of the way. The dude just pushed all the things off the counter, creating a lovely chemical reaction, with smoke and sparks and stuff. They were smart enough to run away at that point, because a minute or so later everything blows. 

“The second explosion was due to the glass cabinet with some dangerous stuff tipping over once a big lamp crashed down. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” Rin explains exasperated. Makoto tries to understand what exactly Rin is telling him, but it’s hard to focus. He does get that two scientists are definitely getting fired. 

“Another reason not to date a co-worker, I suppose?” he jokes. Rin scoffs, shaking his head.

“Yeah… Those fucking idiots.” Makoto frowns at the use of language.

“Rin, language.” Rin looks at him like a rebellious teenager.

“Oh shut up, I try.” Makoto smiles. He knows Rin is having a hard time controlling his language. He remembers well how fowl Rin used to sound in middle school. Rin sighs and sits up straight. He opens his notebook and writes something down.

“Well, I’m supposed to ask you about the things you did and how many people you saved and all that uninteresting stuff so your boss can write a report about it and my boss can see how many people need help, so, please, tell me whatever,” Rin grumbles, looking up at Makoto. Makoto sighs. He knows how this goes, he just has to explain his actions and maybe he’ll get called into court for doing something wrong or right after which no one ever speaks of it again. Usually, that is. 

He explains to Rin everything he remembers, starting from when and where he heard the explosion until the moment he blacked out. Rin dutifully writes everything down, sometimes asking for an elaboration.

“Well, that’s that. I hope you have a better day after this than me,” Rin says as they finish. Makoto nods and gifts Rin with another smile. Rin gapes at him for a while, a light blush covering his face.

“Why are you not sharing yourself with the rest of the world? Damn, I think everyone would like to spend a night with you,” Rin mumbles. Makoto flushes bright red. 

“Rin! Don’t just say that! I just, I’m not really interested in anyone, okay. Geez, give me a break already.” Makoto hides his face in his hands, feeling mortified. Rin laughs.

“Oh, come on, you crazy cat man. Go out there and find someone sexy. There must be someone that can excite you? Just go for it! You’ll probably end up with the best night of your life in the worst case, and maybe a long term relationship in the best. Come on, show everyone your sexy side. I know you have one,” Rin continues, poking Makoto in the ribs. Makoto squeals and flinches away shaking his head, feeling embarrassed. Makoto is very aware of his attraction to Rin, and Rin seems into him as well, but they’re friends and he just feels like he’ll lose something if he goes for a one night stand. Rin sighs.

“I’m getting a little worried, Makoto. I know you want someone. And everyone knows you need someone to keep you grounded. Don’t think I don’t remember our talk a few years ago. It’s good that you were finally honest, but if you don’t change, you won’t be able to make yourself happy,” Rin says while reaching out his hands and holding Makoto’s into his. Makoto smiles and sighs.

“I know you’re looking out for me, but I just can’t, okay? Just let me be me and I’ll let you be you. (“No you won’t.” “Let me pretend!”) I want to have someone in my life, yes, but I don’t want to force anything. I’m sorry, but I’m really not comfortable with going out there and letting myself go,” Makoto explains softly. Rin grins and looks away, flustered.

“Yeah, I know, I know. I just want you to be happy.” Makoto sighs, squeezing Rin’s hands. He remembers Rin has just broken up with the girl he was dating a few weeks ago. They had been dating for at least a year already, longer than Rin normally held out with anyone. Makoto scolds himself for not realising this sooner, his friend is just trying to make him happy for him.

“You’ll be okay, Rin. You’ll find someone new,” Makoto reassures. Rin sniffs and takes his hands back.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I was talking about you, you dumbface.” Makoto laughs at the childish remark. Rin looks away, looking like that rebellious teenager again.

“Come on, suck it up. You have more people to interrogate,” Makoto says as he stands up. Rin grunts and glares at him.

“I’m fine, shut up. Send the next one in. And take a break!” he says as Makoto walks outside. Makoto sends the next person in and then goes down to calm himself a little. He’s feeling faint again and he’d rather not fall onto the concrete floor. That sounds like a rather painful experience. 

He looks to the clock and notices it’s about time for him to leave normally. He figures he can get away with drinking a cup of coffee and resting for a bit, seeing as his back feels inflamed right now. He grabs himself a mug of coffee and sits down in one of the empty plastic chairs. Everyone is conversing around him and cleaning up, but Makoto feels fine just sitting there, observing the world around him. An hour later most of the crew is getting ready to leave, so Makoto stands up, gathers his stuff and shouts a greeting behind him as he leaves the station. He notices it’s already gotten dark. Normally he’s home before the dark. 

_‘I hope Haru-chan is doing okay,’_ he thinks as he climbs the stairs in his apartment building. Once he’s at the top he’s exhausted. _‘What are you doing, Makoto? These stairs were nothing to you.’_

Makoto breathes heavily, feeling dizzy, as he opens his door. He steps inside, closing and locking the door behind him, before dropping down onto the ground. He groans as he takes off his boots. He feels another wave of dizziness wave over him and falls backwards, splayed over the floor. He heaves a heavy arm over his face and tries to relax. He just barely remembers that he still has to feed his cat before everything turns black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a heavy day for Mako-chan-senpai! Let's let him sleep for a bit while I go write several flashback chapters, kekeke. I have also been writing several extra chapters from Haruka's perspective, which we're not going to see in this story, so look out for one-shots in this series if you're interested ^^ I'll post them a lot later in the story, because I don't want to spoil anything, or show anyone what's going on in Haru's mind before Makoto realises xD So yeah, stuff is happening in my mind. Let's hope I'll find enough time to write a bunch the coming week so I can get things going again ^^
> 
> I have to start school again and maybe an internship in a week, so busy times for me ahead :( I'll probably have to fix some things coming week as well, in order to successfully start school again :') Please don't hate me if this story is going to be uploading slowly from now on -bow-
> 
> Hope to see you guys soon :3
> 
> xx Chi ^^


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I have no good reason for being this significantly late. I mean, I had a reason last year, because I was suddenly stuck in this massive project at school, but I really didn't need to stop writing for one and a half year... Geez, I'm the worst q.q Well, I do hope you'll like the chapter! Not sure where exactly I'm gonna take this story (and especially, whether I am capable of bringing it there within a reasonable time), so bear with me x)
> 
> xx Chi ^^

Makoto awakes drowsily, smelling some deliciously cooked fish. He mumbles and turns over in bed. He slowly opens his eyes and blinks away the sleep. When he is able to focus, he sees a young man sitting on a stool next to his bed. The man is attractive, with pitch black hair and shining blue eyes. He seems to be struggling with his chopsticks, trying to eat a plate full of grilled mackerel. It takes a few seconds for Makoto to realise that the man is using his chopsticks and plate (and probably mackerel). It takes him another few seconds to realize that this man is certainly a stranger and not welcome in his house. He shoots up and stares at the man.

“Who are you!?” he shouts. The man just blinks slowly and returns to eat.

“No, no you don’t! Who are you? What are you doing here? And why am I naked!” Makoto lifts the sheets in panic revealing that he is indeed completely naked. The man just stares at him dumbly. Makoto is getting frustrated. He frowns and glares at the man.

“Why are you eating that? That’s for my cat!” The man stares right back at him. It feels like he’s trying to tell Makoto something, but Makoto ignores it. Then the man sighs and rolls his eyes. He stands up and walks out of the room.

“Where do you think you’re going!?” Makoto jumps out of bed and hurriedly puts on a pair of fresh boxers. He runs into the kitchen to find the man shovelling the last bit of mackerel into his mouth. The stranger then puts the dishes onto the massive pile of, quite honestly forgotten, dishes Makoto had left there during the previous days. The man slinks out of the room and Makoto gets an odd feeling of déjà-vu.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Makoto walks after the man and into his living room. He just stares at the man as he makes himself comfortable on the cat bed in the room. 

“What are you doing? That’s my cat’s! Who are you?” Makoto tries again. The man just keeps staring at him. Makoto rubs a hand over his face before realizing his cat is nowhere to be found. He glares at the stranger.

“What have you done with my cat!?” The stranger just looks so completely done with everything and Makoto flinches back a little. Well then. Makoto turns around and searches his home briefly before standing still in the hallway and calling his cat’s name.

“Haru-chan!”

“Drop the –chan,” the stranger says from his awkward position on the cat bed. Makoto stares at him. _What?_

“No, stop that. Who are you?” Makoto asks again, now he knows the man can talk. He sees the man frown a little before he opens his mouth again.

“To think I used all my magic to turn human and I’m treated like this. I thought you wanted a human companion like me.” The man turns his face to the side and a light blush flushes over his face. 

“I guess I was wrong,” he mutters and stands up, trying to flee by running past Makoto into the hallway. Makoto quickly reaches out his arm and firmly holds onto the stranger’s wrist. 

“Haru?” he asks. The man in front of him (Haru?) flits his eyes back to look shyly at him. There was no way his cat had suddenly turned human overnight, right? That was impossible… And yet the stranger certainly had the same presence, same hair and the same beautiful eyes as his cat. 

Makoto felt faint and stumbled. It felt like there was cotton in his ears and a high ringing noise blocked out whatever the man in front of him was saying. He noticed he had fallen to the ground, but couldn’t keep his eyes open, the world blackening before him as he took in the worried look in those deep blue eyes.

When Makoto wakes up again, he’s been brought back to bed. He sits up heavily, his head still ringing from fainting. He keeps his eyes closed until he’s certain he can handle something absurd like his cat being human. When he opens his eyes and looks to his left, he sees that the man is sitting on the stool again, this time looking over him worriedly. Makoto groans and rubs his hands over his face.

“So you’re Haru? Haruka, Haru-chan, the cat I picked up when I came to live here 5 years ago? The one who has an odd affinity for water and is addicted to mackerel?” Makoto asks, feeling exhausted. He looks over at the man to see him blushing lightly and nodding. 

“Please explain to me how that is possible?” he begs. Haru’s eyes twinkle in, Makoto guesses, amusement. 

“Not going to faint again?” he asks innocently. Makoto leers at Haru from between his fingers. He grunts something that is supposed to be a confirmation and Haru’s lips curl up into a tiny smile. _Cute._ Whoa, hold on there Makoto, this is your cat you’re thinking of... Oh, wait, actually, his cat has always been cute, hasn’t he?

“I save up the magic from all my lives in order to become human,” Haruka explains slowly. Makoto looks at Haruka properly. So cats are magical beings? He wonders. Haruka chuckles quietly, surprising Makoto.

“All beings have magic,” Haruka mutters and looks away. Ah, so he didn’t really like the attention he was getting, or was he? Makoto smiles gently and reaches his hand out. Haruka looks worriedly at the hand for a second, but doesn’t try to avoid it. Makoto pets Haruka’s hair and is instantly reminded of petting his Haru-chan’s fur.

“Magic, huh?” he mutters to himself as he continues petting Haru’s head. Haru shakes his head with an annoyed look on his face and looks away as Makoto is forced to remove his hand from Haru’s head. He chuckles to himself.

“I doubt I have any magic to me at all! I’m an enormous clutz, as you probably know,” Makoto says and sighs deeply. Haru returns his gaze onto Makoto.

“Humans have, by far, the least amount of magic to them, because seemingly you have bred that way. Magic was rejected by humans,” Haru explains. Makoto nods to himself. That sounded reasonable. 

“I guess that explains the stories about witch hunts and stuff, huh?” Haru cocks his head in question.

“Oh, there are stories about people with magical powers who were supposedly hunted down for those powers. People now have concluded that it was due to the influence of the church that people believed magic existed, that it was a way for them to remove troublesome people. But I guess there really were people with magic then. That’s pretty cool,” Makoto explains. Haru sniffs and looks away.

“Humans are stupid.” Makoto laughs at the sentiment.

“Then why did you change into one?” He asks with a laugh. Haru leans forward and looks directly into Makoto’s eyes. Makoto gasps a little at the intense stare.

“Because you were lonely and I wanted to help.” Makoto continues to stare at Haru in awe. That was unexpected. But, wait, lonely? How did his cat know? Makoto frowns a little and Haru startles back with a flush on his face.

“How did you know I was lonely?” Makoto asks. Haru shrugs and looks away.

“You were always talking to me and actively tried to get my attention once you returned home. I also heard what you and your friends talked about often. And I know how often you pleasure yourself,” Haru says. So his cat understood that much, huh? Makoto flushes bright red in realisation.

“Pleasure myself!? You heard that!?” Haru looks back questioningly.

“Yes?” Makoto lets out a wail of embarrassment and covers his face with his hands.

“What’s wrong?” Haru asks uncertainly. Makoto looks up shyly through his fingers.

“It’s embarrassing! Those things are normally private and I didn’t think my cat would actually hear me and know what I was doing!” Makoto says with a whine. Haru frowns.

“Why is it embarrassing? Getting into heat is natural and when you don’t have a mate it’s better to do something with it yourself,” Haru reasons. Makoto chuckles.

“Well, humans consider the topic to be private and no one talks about it. Besides, humans pick a mate for live, usually, so we don’t want others to hear or see us in that state?” Makoto tries to explain. Haru shrugs.

“Okay.” Silence falls over them. Makoto feels himself get a little awkward again. Haru seems content just looking around from his new perspective. Makoto doesn’t really know what to talk about. Does he have to say anything? What’s the etiquette amongst humanoid cats, exactly? Before he can ponder more however, his stomach makes a decision for him and grumbles loudly. Makoto squeaks and feels heat rising on his cheeks. Haru stands up.

“Shall I make some more mackerel?” he offers. Makoto nods and mutters a soft ‘thank you’ as Haru walks out of the bedroom. He sighs deeply and falls down onto his bed again.

“So Haru-chan is a human now huh?” he mumbles to himself. He laughs a little. What a strange thing to happen to him. Then again, this might all be a dream. No time to think about that, he really needed to dress himself.

“Up I go,” he mutters as he rises from the bed. He picks a simple pair of sweats and a large shirt to dress for the day. He knows his boss wants him to stay home for the day anyway. A look in the mirror shows him he has impressive bangs under his eyes, but his eyes seem surprisingly bright. Huh. It’s been a while since he looked as relaxed as he did now. Definitely a dream then.

“Everything okay here?” Makoto asks as he walks into the kitchen. He’s hit with the delicious smell of perfectly cooked mackerel and feels salvia collecting in his mouth. He looks as Haru expertly plates the mackerel. Well, expertly, the fish was expertly cooked, it was… interesting, to say the least, the way Haru moves the fish onto the plate. Haru looked up when he heard Makoto enter and looks at him.

“You’re a great cook,” Makoto blurts out. Haru huffs and puts the pan down.

“You didn’t make any rice?” Haru shrugs. Makoto moves over to the counter and turns on his rice cooker. He quickly adds the required amount of water and then, slower, adds the rice. He gets his plate and a pair of chopsticks and sits down at the kitchen table. Haru moves to sit in front of him.

“How do you know how to cook?” Makoto tries again. Haru looks down.

“I remembered how you do it,” he explains. Makoto laughs.

“That couldn’t have helped you!? I’m the worst cook there is!” Haru huffs again and a small smile plays on his lips. 

“That’s true,” he says with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “But it taught me how to use the tools in the kitchen. And definitely how to _not_ burn things.”

“Haruu~ so mean!” Makoto says with a chuckle. Makoto stands up and checks on the rice cooker. Haru slowly moves to stand beside him.

“Why do you eat that?” He asks. Makoto chuckles. 

“It gives more energy and it’s the one thing I do not burn, hehe. I guess it looks a little weird. It’s all small bits and stuff. Huh, I guess it really is odd. It’s quite tasty once you get used to it though,” he finishes with a smile. Haru nods with a frown on his face.

“Want to try some? It’s just about done. There’s enough for the both of us,” Makoto offers. Haru looks up and nods, blinking slowly. Makoto smiles at him and turns off the cooker as the light turns off. He grabs the plate Haru used before and scoops u a little bit of rice onto it. He then grabs a spoon and hands the items to Haru. 

“The spoon makes it a little easier to eat,” he explains as Haru studies the spoon. Haru nods slowly and returns to the kitchen table. Makoto scoops the rest of the rice onto his own plate and returns to his seat as well. Haru pokes at the rice for a moment before scooping up a small amount onto his spoon and tasting it. He frowns adorably. 

“Taste good?” Makoto asks innocently as he eats his own food without problems. Haru glares at him for a moment.

“It’s weird,” he states and Makoto laughs.

“Yes! But it fills the stomach,” he says with a smile. Haru shrugs, but continues to eat his rice. Makoto hums pleasantly and realises something significant: He feels the best he’s ever felt. Maybe his cat turning human is not so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, no flashback chapter like I promised! I have been having the worst time trying to write nice chapters for that over the past year and a half (why me, why -cry-), but today decided that I was just gonna let this continue for a bit first.
> 
> So. As I have proven now, I cannot stick to a schedule. Especially when writing (this is why I wanted to have more chapters ready, but I just felt so guilty D'x). Let's all hope I keep my fingers moving from now on and focus more on writing to entertain myself instead of desperately playing Dark Souls 1/2/3 (whichever) like a junky U_U (the biggest flaw of being a game designer: you get horribly addicted to well-designed games ._.')
> 
> By the way, I'm curious about this; how's the firework abuse (read: people using fireworks outside designated time periods, if they exist, and people throwing fireworks at others etc.) in whichever country you readers are from? Here in the Netherlands things are generally alright, just a bunch of teens making loads of noise during old year's day. I have noticed that things are worse in the city I'm currently residing in. Possibly because there are also actual bombs going off sometimes o.O (I was shocked when I read that info, I was convinced all the *BOOM*s were fireworks o.o) Luckily the bombs only really affect the (ridiculously large) criminal scene in this city. Supposedly there's a bunch of gangs in this city. Never noticed them xD I thought that stuff only happened in movies, or very maybe, in America, but I guess I was wrong!
> 
> xx Chi ^^


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